Strengthening Brands through Industrial Designs
Attracting a consumer in a crowded marketplace is always a challenge, even for products based on market‐leading technology. The brand or mark plays an important role. But often it is the external appearance that may first catch the eye of a potential consumer. Good design often wins passionate brand loyalty as in the case of Apple’s iPod.
Design savvy businesses integrate design fully into the product development process, so that aesthetic considerations are taken into account alongside the engineering aspects of the new or improved product. They also protect the distinctive appearance of their products by registering the design. This is true of a very wide range of products, including high‐tech products, such as cars, washing machines, mobile phones, and so on. In a well designed product, there is harmony between its functionality and its form, with both adding to its value.
More Reference 1‐2: Basics of industrial designs
1. Definition
An industrial design is generally the ornamental or aesthetic aspects of a product. It may consist of three‐dimensional features, such as the shape or configuration of an article, or of two‐dimensional features, such as images, pictures, drawings, and so on that rely on patterns line or colors.
2. Character
a. Industrial designs are relevant to a wide variety of products of industry, fashion and handicrafts from technical and medical instruments to watches, jewelry, and other luxury items; from household products, toys furniture and electrical appliances to cars and architectural structures; from textile designs to sports equipment. Industrial design is also important in relation to packaging, containers and “get‐up” of products.
b. In the recent past, design protection has been extended in many countries to electronic desktop icons generated by computer code, type faces, the graphic display on computer monitors, mobile phones, and the like.
3. Protection
Requirements for registration
- It must be new or novel.
- It must be original. (created by the designer and is not a copy or an imitation of existing designs)
- It must have an individual character.
The term of protection for a registered industrial design may very from one countryto another, and it varies form 10 to 25 years. In most countries, protection of industrial designs requires registration in a particular class but the protection is not limited to the goods in that class of goods. In some countries, mostly in Europe, a copyright‐like protection is also available to unregistered designs.
4. The industrial design owner has the following rights.
a. An industrial design provides its owner the exclusive right to prevent unauthorized copying or imitation by third parties.
b. This includes the right to exclude all others from making, offering, putting on the market, importing, exporting, using, selling, or stocking for such purposes by others of product in which the design is incorporated or the which it is applied.
For further information, please follow the next contents, explore the world of intellectual property and chances that intellectual property may bring to your enterprise.
